For many students, navigating career decisions is one of the most consequential parts of their college experience, yet their methods for obtaining guidance are often fragmented and informal. To better understand these patterns, we surveyed over 300 students at Georgia State University about the sources they use for career advice. What we found was a landscape where institutional resources coexist with personal networks and an increasingly diverse digital ecosystem.

We asked students the question, “Where do you turn for career advice?” Their responses highlighted the importance of university‑embedded supports amidst a backdrop of social networks and technological sources. Georgia State’s University Career Services was the most frequently selected resource, with 132 of the 300+ students reporting its use. Faculty and staff also emerged as a major touchpoint, highlighting the value students place on direct relationships with on‑campus professionals. Together, these patterns underscore the enduring trust students place in institutional guidance and suggest that campus‑based expertise continues to anchor many students’ career decision‑making.

Beyond these formal supports, students also rely heavily on sources outside the university. Google, family or guardians, and friends formed the next tier of commonly used advice channels, illustrating how students blend institutional resources with personal networks and readily accessible digital tools as they navigate their career questions.

Students’ write‑in responses provide additional nuance. Several students cited job boards, books, advising centers, military outreach, and niche online communities as meaningful supplemental sources — reminders that students often assemble their own patchwork of advice depending on their needs, academic discipline, and comfort level. This ecosystem of alternative channels reinforces that students’ search behaviors are fluid and deeply personal, requiring institutions to understand how students’ lived experiences shape where they turn for guidance.

Taken together, the findings point toward an opportunity for institutions to strengthen cross‑unit alignment in how career resources are communicated, delivered, and integrated. Students already demonstrate a willingness to engage with formal support systems, but they complement this engagement with expansive online research and advice from trusted individuals in their personal circles. The challenge — and opportunity — for universities is to ensure that institutional services not only remain visible but are woven into students’ existing habits of information‑seeking. Coordinated messaging, streamlined referral pathways, and increased collaboration across advising, faculty, and career offices can help bridge current gaps by responding directly to the mixed patterns in students’ advice‑seeking behavior that surfaced in our survey. Strengthening these connections can help ensure that students receive consistent, timely guidance that aligns with their academic goals and evolving career interests.

As institutions continue to invest in comprehensive student success ecosystems, understanding the real‑world behaviors of students is essential. This survey underscores that students’ approach to career exploration is multifaceted and adaptive. Effective institutional strategy must meet students where they already are, while strengthening the guidance that leads them where they need to go.